A fuel cell is a cell in which a fuel and an oxidant are supplied to two electrically-connected electrodes to electrochemically oxidize the fuel, thereby converting chemical energy directly to electrical energy. Accordingly, it is not limited by the Carnot cycle and shows high energy conversion efficiency. A fuel cell generally includes a stack of fuel cells, each having a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) as the basic structure, which is composed of a pair of electrodes and an electrolyte membrane sandwiched therebetween.
As a fuel cell electrode catalyst, a core-shell catalyst directed to the reduction of the amount of a noble metal used (e.g., platinum) is known.
For example, in Patent Literature 1, there is a description of a method for producing a core-shell catalyst by displacement plating using copper underpotential deposition (Cu-UPD).